Shop Segretation Idea---Inputs?

[Angelfire]

Hiya,
I'm due to return from my overseas assignment this summer. I can finally get back to work on my standalone. I built it before leaving with the intention of parking cars/working on cars/jeep/welding/etc...as well as woodworking. I would prefer to run a segregation wall such that I have a woodworking side and a "dirty" side where the cars/jeeps would be parked/worked on. My shop is 32x40. There's a natural break between the two so that's where I'll put up a framed wall (and insulate as I plan to heat and cool each side independently). So given my assignment is ending soon, my mind has started to plan for this. I am thinking of installing a pocket door to separate the two areas simply for the fact that it demands less floor space than a standard swinging door. I'm looking at something in the neighborhood of 4' wide so it won't be a nightmare getting materials or finished projects in and out of the wood shop. I don't like the idea of a pocket door from the standpoint of heating and cooling as I wouldn't expect them to be all that efficient in terms of being a barrier to air movement. But I still like the idea of preserving floor space. So my question to the collective, has anyone used a pocket door in this fashion and had any regrets? Are there any specific types of pocket doors you'd recommend that might offer a bit more in terms of alleviating the air movement between sides?
Cheers.

 

[matt_i]

It seems good. I built a wall in a former 3car garage and it made the parking bay very tight as far as opening the doors. That said it did a nice job of keeping shop separated from parking.

The pocket door is much more fragile than a swing door and you can't bump it open with your hip/knee if your hands are occupied and the door is not fully latched into the striker.

I would couple with good centralized dust collection and a circulating air filtration unit.

As far as moving full sheet goods in and out, does the woodshop have its own rollup door or is it basically a box with the entry on the jeep-side?

 

[Angelfire]

Thanks.

I already have plans for dust collection in mind.

The pocket door would be the only egress into the wood side bar a 3070 man door so would be used for moving sheet goods in and out. The pocket door would essentially connect the wood shop to the jeep shop which does have a fully roll-up door. That's why I was looking a bit oversized at 4' wide for the pocket door. Shouldn't be a problem moving them in as I'd only be handling one sheet at a time. Not ideal but is certainly better than trying to get them through the 3070 door.

 

[kbs2244]

Something I have seen done is to use heavy curtains across a wide door way.
Heavy like in thin rugs.
If you use two with 18 to 20 inch overlap you get a pretty good thermal block and you can just walk through the overlap a la Johnny Carson.
A broom handle with a hook on the end was used to pull them open when needed.

 

[DC73]

4' is pretty wide for a standard pocket door. Consider something like this: Build 2 doors. One will be fixed in place and flush with the wall on one side. The other will move on tracks barn door style and when opened, will tuck behind the fixed door and be flush with the wall on the other side. It's sort of a pocket door without the pocket. Could be a cool look if done right. You could even put equipment, cabinets, etc on the floor on the moving door side as it would just slide behind them.

DC

 

[Radix2]

I think it is a good idea, since you are building a shop and woodworking and all, build it custom and 6 ft wide. Just another project!

Look on eBay for a low cost 6' roll-up?

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Couple more options: Moveable wall panels.
Bi-fold doors.
The Moveable wall panels would work nice when You discover the woodworking area is too small for that new table saw, or that jeep project could use an extra two feet..

 

[Angelfire]

Thanks folks for all the inputs. With regards to the pocket door, I was looking at using a 2 segmented version like this:

http://www.johnsonhardware.com/1562.htm (referred to as a "bypass pocket door")....of course this isn't the best option for my HVAC plans but a bit of rubber moulding in the right places might do the trick.

With regards to my table saw, I already have a cabinet table saw and planned the shop such that I can cut sheet goods without moving it. For those very long rips and such, I have it aligned to shoot out the front door if needed. But you never know, I have an idea to build a canoe one day and having it span into both sides of the shop is highly likely!
Cheers.

 

[jmiller_2308]

If you are heating/cooling both spaces and they are going to be relatively close in temps I wouldn't worry too much about heat loss through the door.

One thing about a pocket door or even a door that moves along the wall is that you will lose the ability to hang much on those walls. For me, wall space was a lot more important than having to worry about the swing of the door.

Besides, if you are concerned about heating/cooling each space independently the door will likely be closed most of the time. That means you only need the swing area to be clear and if you are like me and hate tripping over stuff when you walk through the door it shouldn't be a big issue to keep the swing area open.

Also, I suspect you could get an exterior double door ranging from 4 to 6 feet and only use one door when you aren't hauling materials through it.

 

[Angelfire]

I'm not all that familiar with pocket doors but it appears they use 2x4's turned sideways as studs....should be plenty to put up a shelf or two I would think. But you're right, by heating/cooling each side independently, the door will be closed most of the time so it may be a moot point.
Cheers.

 

[jmiller_2308]

I'm not all that familiar with pocket doors but it appears they use 2x4's turned sideways as studs....should be plenty to put up a shelf or two I would think. But you're right, by heating/cooling each side independently, the door will be closed most of the time so it may be a moot point.
Cheers.

On the pocket door frames that I looked at they were built from 1x material.

If you are hanging calendars and clocks you would be alright but I'd be careful hanging cabinets.

As a side note, I originally became aware of how little room there is to screw things in when I managed to put a screw in a wall near the pocket door going into the master bath and managed to make it a non-sliding door

 

[lakeroadster]

I'm using a small insulated 8' x 7' overhead garage door on the dividing wall in my shop. Have you considered that?

 

[Streetbu]

My parents used a pocket door on their bathroom when they remodeled it. He bought a solid door so noise wouldn't travel LOL. If I were you, I would actually install two of them. Two smaller ones may be cheaper than one very large door. You could basically use one all the time, but if you had something large to move or if you wanted, you'd have a 6' opening between the two spaces.... JMO

 

[Farmerjonathan]

Whatever you choose, make sure stray sparks can't go under whatever you decide on. A stray spark from the auto side going to the wood side (with plenty of fuel) would be a disaster! Good connections at the floor to keep the other side safe..

 

[Angelfire]

On the pocket door frames that I looked at they were built from 1x material.

If you are hanging calendars and clocks you would be alright but I'd be careful hanging cabinets.

As a side note, I originally became aware of how little room there is to screw things in when I managed to put a screw in a wall near the pocket door going into the master bath and managed to make it a non-sliding door

In looking quickly at their drawings it would appear they may be using something thinner than a 2x4....I'll look into it more. Thanks for the heads up!

I'm using a small insulated 8' x 7' overhead garage door on the dividing wall in my shop. Have you considered that?

Yeah, that may be an option as well.

Whatever you choose, make sure stray sparks can't go under whatever you decide on. A stray spark from the auto side going to the wood side (with plenty of fuel) would be a disaster! Good connections at the floor to keep the other side safe..

Definitely!

 

[bczygan]

2 options:

Insulated sliding barn style door on tracks with weatherstripping.

Easier:
8x8 insulated overhead door. Great access and takes up little space. Easy to weatherstrip.

Bill

 

[NUTTSGT]

I considered taking the pre-hung door from between the different sides of my garage and replacing it with a sliding "barn door." 2x4 frame filled with 1.5" foam and skinned both sides with luan...glued and screwed should make for a nice solid door.

 

[lakeroadster]

One negative to the sliding door is you need to leave so much space for it to slide... so a 8 foot door takes up 16 feet of wall space. One way to address this is a double track, with 4 foot doors. Food for thought.

 

[iminocca]

There are a lot of hardware options for pocket doors out there. If I were looking to do what you are thinking, I would just buy the track, rollers, and guides build my own frame using full 2X4's on both sides (not 1X's, even steel wrapped ones) and a pair of 3-0 X 6-8 1-3/4" solid core doors. It would be easy to weatherstrip the sides and top, and a sweep cut into the bottom of the door would finish it off. The biggest problem I have had with pocket doors is lightweight hardware and flimsy frames. Easily overcome if you're selective about the hardware and build you own frames. They you wouldn't have any issues hanging cabinets, and no overhead clearance issues or lighting interference. And you could electrical wiring to the edge of the opening on both sides. Just my $0.02...

 

[FullRaceMerc]

I am not a fan of pocket doors. They can be more trouble over time than swinging doors. As mentioned above, screwing things into the wall at the pocket is a no no on a standard 2x4 wall.

I prefer a French door. Two 24" doors in a 4' opening. Under normal use only one door needs to open. Both can be opened for large loads. Each door swings only 24" off the wall, so floor space used is the depth of a standard counter. With swinging doors you can seal them tight with weatherstripping & a threshold if you want. Or leave the floor flat if you're rolling things back & forth.

 

[slip knot]

My vote is for a roll up door. takes up zero wall space, easy to install and reasonably priced.

 

[jask]

use a warehouse or barn roller door- you can build it thick enough to insulate properly and you will not be able to do that with a pocket door.

 

[NUTTSGT]

One negative to the sliding door is you need to leave so much space for it to slide... so a 8 foot door takes up 16 feet of wall space. One way to address this is a double track, with 4 foot doors. Food for thought.

I've considered that and I think if wall space is a premium,which it generally is, I'd build a fake wall in front of it. Basically, it would become a pocket door or hidden door. On the bright side, I think it would be stronger and allow for more insulation....over a regular pocket door for a shop enviroment....edit.

Since it's a fake wall, the 2x4s could be turned flat and covered with OSB, only taking up and extra 2 inches.

Of course, like everything else, proper planning and layout will help.

 

[Angelfire]

Thanks folks for all the inputs. Some new ideas to consider for sure. I'm a ways off from actually framing anything but this gives me a good start in terms of options.
Cheers.

 

[larry_g]

One thing is you don't have to stay with 2x4 stud walls. I made mine with 2x10 studs and have shelves built into them, as seen in the build thread below. If you go with 2x10 studs then you can have full 2x4 along the door pocket to hang good shelving on. I also would advise you to spend a bit of time at http://www.johnsonhardware.com/pdindex.htm to see what is available in heavy duty hardware.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Jackfre]

I think you would be better off with a "barn door hardware". They are sliders, but are fully exposed and take up little space. You could build right up to the channel the door requires.

http://artisanhardware.com/product-category/sliding-barn-doors/

You would have a lot more options on the door itself with this type system.

 

[Angelfire]

I think you would be better off with a "barn door hardware". They are sliders, but are fully exposed and take up little space. You could build right up to the channel the door requires.

http://artisanhardware.com/product-category/sliding-barn-doors/

You would have a lot more options on the door itself with this type system.

While I like the idea of the "Sliding barn door" because it allows me to fix it when it breaks without digging into the wall, it still kind of defeats the purpose. I wouldn't be able to put shelves there as an example. Could put a piece of machinery spaced out from the wall but not sure I want that. I need to dig up my machinery layout I did about 3+ years ago and see what I had planned to be where the door is. I was sent overseas so had it all planned but haven't looked at my layout since I made it... Either way, it is an option for me to consider. Thanks much.